Monster House
by sharpieaddictinactive
Summary: Wren was just an animal lover looking out for an abandoned dog. When that dog turns out to be Smile Dog, She is forced to deal with Jeff the killer, BEN drowned, the Rake, Eyeless Jack, and even Slenderman as her house becomes home to more than just stray animals. "The sign out front says Monster House; you're welcome to stay as long as I don't die" - the owner
1. Chapter 1

It wasn't anything abnormal.

She picked up strays all the time, though admittedly this one looked and felt… wrong. It was dark out, so she couldn't tell anything about the animal other than the basics. It was a dog, she knew; it had barked at her before it fell unconscious and she had started dragging it to her car. God this dog was heavy.

Groaning with the weight, she managed to shift her hold to just one arm and open the waiting car door. The resulting light pooled out, blinding her for a moment as she blinked rapidly to clear her vision. "Wh-"Her breath caught. This was no ordinary dog; it was red, with a black stripe of a mane falling messily about red-white eyes that were half-rolled into the back of its head in unconsciousness. With shaky hands, she reached out and gently pushed the upper lip back. "It can't be," she whispered in horror, staring openly at the square, too-human molars that gleamed yellowish white in the car's dim illumination.

The dog looked like Smile dog. It looked a little too much like Smile dog to be healthy… or faked. For a long time, she simply stared at it in indecisive horror. What should she do? If it _was _Smile dog, then she would attract a lot of trouble by bringing it to her house. However, leaving it to fend for itself was cruel; it couldn't even walk when she came across it.

She sighed, looping her arms around its torso again and heaving it into the back seat. As she got in the driver's side and started the car, she had a bad feeling in her gut that she was making a horrible mistake.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Wren Jones' house was full of animals. Stray cats came in at all hours from the little doggy door in the kitchen and lapped up the saucer of cream she left out; there were four or five dog beds around the living room that looked recently occupied, as though the users had just left. A large crate housed several abandoned ferrets she had discovered one day, and the large bird cage next to it was always open and sometimes occupied by injured avians.

The only animals that lived there permanently were the two crested geckos that shared a glass tank. Those had been a gift from a friend of hers last year, and she loved them just as dearly as she did the other, part-time tenants. As the door opened, the eyes of several animals turned towards the thin, struggling girl and the large dog she was carrying.

"Yeah, I got another dog," She grunted, addressing a tabby nearby, "Deal with it, Minerva; s'not like you have to stay here." The cat blinked regally as Wren attempted to gently set the monstrous dog onto the biggest of the dog beds. The dog's head lolled, then shifted as it returned to consciousness at the less-than-gentle drop Wren had ended up giving instead. It lifted its head and gave a deep, rumbling growl; the other animals shifted and shied away at the sound.

"Hey," She scolded, voice wavering, "Don't give me that. I just took your butt off the street and gave you a warm, comfy bed to rest in. How about you just lay still, don't kill any of the other animals, and rest?" It continued growling, but the threat wasn't behind it anymore. Wren swallowed nervously and continued, "Are you… are you Smile dog?"

Its ears perked. "I… okay. You're really Smile dog?" She jumped when it nodded. "You can understand me?" Another nod, and an eye roll. Wren bit her lip. This was entirely new; what was she going to do now? "Do you have an owner?"

Smile dog nodded, smiling wide and opening its eyes up until they looked like they were going to pop out. It took her a minute to realize it was trying to tell her something, and when she did her heart dropped into her stomach. "Your owner is Jeff, isn't it?" She said hollowly.

The dog nodded excitedly, and she felt like crying.

"He's going to come looking for you," she said in a shaky voice, "He's going to come looking for you and he's going to kill me when he finds you here." The dog nodded again, slower this time. "He'll kill me anyway, even if you're not here; I'm dead meat walking…." She reached out her hand unconsciously as she spoke, rubbing behind Smile dog's ears. It let out a contented growl and leaned into her touch, seemingly unconcerned with her impending demise. "I… you. You can't let him kill me, okay?" She said, turning her attention back to the dog. It gave her a half-blissed look. "I'll pet you all the time and feed you real meat and…. And bacon. Just… when he comes, don't let him kill me, okay?"

The almost unconscious nod she got in return didn't make her feel any better.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX


	2. Chapter 2

Thankfully, Smile had seemed to settle in after that. Will the promise of warm lodging and exceptional food, the demonic husky was more than content to relax into the dog bed and growl at Minerva whenever she came near. Wren wasn't nearly so relaxed. She prepared the food for the multitude of animals with the kind of jumpy nervousness one might expect to experience after a horror movie.

As promised, Smile got his bacon, and a pork chop Wren found in her freezer. The dog ate it up ravenously, a terrifyingly human smile lighting his face. Minerva got a full can of tuna, which seemed to occupy her for the moment and take her away from the latest canine intrusion in what she considered her home. When the cat was finished, she rubbed up against Wren's leg and received a gentle scratch under her chin for her efforts.

That didn't last long however, as Wren was soon checking Smile's injuries and fixing him up. Minerva, far from being irked, watched with her bright green eyes. It was a ritual for them; Wren would patch up the latest stray's injuries and Minerva would wait patiently, never interfering. Smile met Minerva's eyes and growled low in his throat, clearly stating that he considered this territory to be _his _now and she was no longer welcome. If cats could smile, Minerva would have given him a smirk. She turned away and flicked her tail once in a sharp yet lazy motion, sauntering away.

_You're not the first to say that _she seemed to say by her actions, _yet I am the one still here._

Smile growled and took his last bite of bacon. _We will see. _

The tabby cat didn't suffer to reply, instead heading up to Wren's room. The cat was the only one allowed in of the uncaged animals, and if the Tabby had any more of her unusually high intelligence she would have thought something of it. As it was, she took it as a sign that this was her house and that her human had accepted that fact finally. Minerva jumped up onto the bed and curled up, taking a nap while she waited for her Wren to join her for the evening

A quiet, nearly inaudible bump woke Minerva. The cat's head shot up as her mind raced to wakefulness, ears perked for more suspicious noises. Another bump, barely louder than the first, prompted her to jump silently onto the floor and slip between the slim opening to the hallway.

Downstairs, Smile's eyes alone shone in the moonlight. No other animals were active. The dog smiled as he caught Minerva. His tail thumped once on the bed and his ears pulled back slightly.

_You heard it too? _He had asked. The cat flicked her ear and sat, acknowledging that she had. Smile looked towards the door, nose twitching as he sniffed. _It's my human._

Minerva hissed. Smile's grin widened.

_He'll be inside soon to get me, and your human will be gone. Then, this will be _my _house and you will not be welcome._

Minerva turned from the unnatural dog, tail flicking agitatedly and ears plastered to her skull. _We will see, abomination. We will see._

From the sound, Minerva tracked the stranger's whereabouts to the window near the kitchen, where he had moved when the door had proven too time consuming and public to risk any longer. Wide, icy blue eyes stared unblinkingly at the Tabby, a permanent grin twisted into a frown at the killer's trouble getting inside. Minerva tilted her head at him, recognizing the visage from the strange flat box Wren was fond of looking at. The human's name was Jeff, if the cat recalled, and he made her Wren uneasy and yet strangely excited. Humans had no preservation instinct.

Purposefully to rub his failure into his face, the cat turned and raced across the house, finding her favorite exit. It was small and even she had a difficult time getting through, but it was convenient for a quiet entrance and exit. Minerva was exceptionally fond of quiet.

Jeff's frustration was noticeable even to the cat as she approached him. A white, long-fingered hand shot out and attempted to grab her. She twisted out of the way with a furious yowl that set the human to looking nervously around. "Hush, you," he growled, pulling out a knife from the white hoodie covering his front, "I won't have any trouble from some cat while I work."

Smile started barking from inside, causing the maniac's eyes to brighten and his stance to straighten. "Smile!" He said, louder than before but still not even a whisper. The barking ceased, and in the resulting silence Minerva could hear Wren coming down the stairs. _Oh that silly girl! _The cat raced furiously to her secret entrance, slipping through and sliding in between her human and Smile. Wren looked confused and scared.

"Minerva? What… what's going on? Is there someone out there?" She asked softly, clutching a baseball bat tightly in her hands. Minerva ignored the question she couldn't answer anyway and faced Smile with ears back and teeth bared. _Your human is here; get out. This is my house and my human; you will not take this from me abomination._

Smile grinned and barked again, a noise that was responded to with the sound of a window shattering. _We will see._


	3. Chapter 3

Wren's heart went cold. There was no question of who was in the house; no question at all as a scratchy male voice called to the dog in front of her and no question when said dog obediently followed his master's command. Minerva was in front of her, hissing furiously as none other than the infamous Jeff the Killer strode into the living room, dog at his side.

"Oh, and what is this? Did you make a new friend, Smile?" He asked, tilting his head slightly and looking her over with too-wide eyes. His tone was mocking, and twisted into a snarl as he spoke again, "You know I don't like new friends."

The dog barked happily, grinning not at Wren but the cat set on protecting her. _You're finished _he crowed happily at Minerva. The cat hissed again, settling back on her haunches and drawing Jeff's attention. He scowled down at her. "Of course the cat lives here," He sighed, bending down to pick her up. Minerva yowled and struggled, clawing at the scarred flesh. The cat's actions shook Wren out of her stupor.

"let go of my fucking cat you vagrant!" She barked, reaching out with all the foolish bravery anger lent her and wrenching the cat from the killer's grasp. Jeff's face contorted oddly in fury, his mouth opening to spit out something venomous. Wren cut him off.

"where do you get off coming into _my house _messing with _my cat _and threatening _my LIFE, _huh? I took in your stupid dog and nursed him back to health and fed him bacon and - and - _YOU." _her attention switched abruptly to the dog, who shrank back in surprise. "_you _just sit there like I didn't spend two hours rubbing that spot on your belly that was really itchy. I GAVE YOU BACON."

Silence.

Then, "pffftHAHAHAHA! OH THIS BITCH IS A FUCKING RIOT." Jeff's face twisted again, becoming for all the world highly amused. Smile looked up at his master questioningly, but the killer only had eyes for the girl in front of him and the tabby in her arms. "I like you; you've got some piss and vinegar in those veins. I guess I can let you off with a good scare, since you did…" he trailed off looking a little lost. Evidently mercy wasn't something he was well versed in. "You did take care of my dog." he paused again, eyes squinching in what wren guessed was an eye-narrowing gesture.

"yeah. I'll let you live, since you took care of Smile… but only if you let me stay here."

Wren blinked. "Huh?"

"Huh?" Jeff mocked, a sneer curling across his features once more, "I'm going to stay here. This place is too big for just you anyway, and I need somewhere I can go to hide out for a while, when the need arises."

"You want me to let a killer stay in my house. You want to _stay," _Wren emphasized, "_here. _with _me._"

"I never said I wanted to; you're ugly as all hell. Don't flatter yourself. You're just… opportune. How'd you get a place this size anyway?" He walked over - glided, almost, with how silent he was - and took up most of the couch as he lounged in it like some imperial housecat. Minerva's tail twitched agitatedly.

"It's none of your business," Wren spat out.

"It is, actually. I'll kill you if you won't tell; fuck knows you need to be made beautiful~"

Wren fumed. "You already said you wouldn't kill me if I let you stay!" She yelled. Jeff shrugged, pulling his knife out and toying with it.

"You didn't accept my conditions; the bargain deal expired. Now you have to answer all my questions too." He gave her a lazy grin that was just on the safe side of sane and on the nasty half of mean.

"I-" She narrowed her eyes. "How do I know you won't go back on your word?"

"who?" Jeff looked around, eyes widening, "me?" his grin grew. "How'd you guess."

"I'm calling the cops." She pursed her lips and stomped off towards the phone. Jeff jumped up, clutching his knife tightly. he looked pissed, Wren could see out of the corner of her eye, but he made no move to throw the knife and kill her, or rush at her. Interesting. maybe he neede the place more than she thought… a plan formed in her head as the killer spoke up.

"Don't be an idiot," Jeff growled, staring darkly at her back. She closed her eyes briefly, counted to ten, and then turned back to him.

"Give me one good reason not to call the cops," she said, lifting her chin defiantly.

"Give me one good reason not to vivisect you where you stand!" Jeff retaliated.

Wren fought the curving of her lips. She could work with this.

"Because," she said calmly, startling Jeff, who had thought his question was rhetorical, "if I live here, alive and unmangled or mentally damaged, you have a better cover. The more normal I look and the less _dead _I am, the longer you can stay."

"So you're saying I can stay."

"No."

"That's what I fucking heard. I'm taking the biggest bedroom."

Wren clenched her fingers tightly. "Fine," she snarled, "Whatever. I'm just fucking monster house central. Take the master; it's full of critters and _you better not kill them or I will out you so fucking fast." _

She spun on her heels and stalked off to bed, Minerve following close at her heels.

Jeff snorted humorlessly, reaching down to pet Smile. "Monster house, huh?" he snorted again. "Like this is some fucking hotel."


	4. Chapter 4

_**Sorry about the messed up chapter guys! thank you for your reviews letting me know something was wrong - I didn't even realize! **_

_**side note: I have this story on wattpad too, mostly because it lets me post and write from my ipod. It's under the same name with a pretty cruddy picture, and the author should be simplelyricist (that's me). I'm letting you know because I may post a chapter up there before it gets posted on here. **_

_**So sorry for the delay!**_

_**~Sharpie**_

The next morning was almost a blueprint for the new morning routine. It started with Wren forcing Jeff out of bed promptly at seven A.M.

The killer groaned and stood, glaring blearily behind his mess of a messy black mane. "What? Why are you waking me up this fucking early! I'm not exactly the "morning person" type if you couldn't fucking tell!"

Wren remained impassive, already making the bed and moving to feed the animals around the room. "Your dog needs to be taken care of; he's been up for an hour waiting for food."

"Damn dog doesn't need me to go hunting," Jeff shot back in a gruff voice. He brushed his hair back, revealing a perplexed expression. "Why didn't he just go get his own food?"

"I'd imagine he doesn't want to go limping outside into the cold to hunt down some measly squirrels and rabbits when he can wait for you in the nice, warm house to pull a steak out of the freezer." The animal lover turned to him. "Things are different when you're staying in a house."

"Oh fuck off. Why don't you feed him? I don't need to be a part of this."

"I tried and he wouldn't let me. He's just sitting at the bottom of the stairs waiting for you."

"He..." Jeff stood, padding silently to the doorway and looking out. Sure enough, Smile was waiting for him. The bottom of the stairs had evidently proved too far, as the demonic canine was resting at the top of the stairs while waiting for his master. Smile's ears perked, an eerie smile crawling across his features as he caught sight of Jeff. The killer turned and stepped back into the room, shooting Wren a questioning look. She raised her eyebrows.

"What?"

"So I just go and feed him?" he sounded unsure.

"Yes, unless you want him to starve...?" that got him moving. Wren nodded in approval as he poked his head back out and made his way over to the dog. Anyone that loved their animal that much couldn't be THAT bad, she reasoned...

"Hey, girl!"

She sighed. "It's Wren," she replied, walking into the hallway. Jeff nodded dismissively.

"Yeah yeah whatever. Why is your house so fucking huge?"

The girl shrugged, looking down the second floor halls and rooms. "it used to be one of those motel places; my grandparents remodeled it years ago and my mom inherited it, like I did after her."

Jeff sneered. "So your mommy's pushing up daisies now?" he jabbed.

"Actually it's much worse; she got married."

Jeff shuddered. "that is worse. Well, at least you have plenty of rooms I can hide in; it'd take the cops years to find me here even if they did show up." that said, he turned and continued down the hall, heading off to feed Smile. The dog followed at his heels.

Rolling her eyes, Wren went back to tending to the animals. Most of them seemed jittery; she'd be surprised if they stayed much longer. Jeff was likely to scare them away... Him and his dog.


End file.
